Music / News
The Croft releases launch party lineup tease
Despite fundraising efforts continuing, the Croft is gearing up for its official reopening on September 12.
The much missed Stokes Croft music venue, which hosted bands for more than 25 years before closing its doors at the start of last summer, was given a second chance after it was included in the latest Own Our Venues campaign which hopes to bring seven venues across the country into public ownership.
Music Venue Properties (MVP) recently extended the community shares campaign to encourage more investors to help it reach its £1.5m target.
is needed now More than ever
The fundraiser will run until October 24 but the Croft has already filled the live programme for its first season after opening up bookings to independent promoters and artists.
View this post on Instagram
While the live acts due to appear on its launch night are being kept under wraps, the club element of the programme has been announced: Brown Excellence will be bringing bhangra, Bollywood, UK techno and more.
“Having held down one of the most popular residencies at the venue in its previous iteration, it was only right to invite them back for the opening weekend,” said Miles Arnold of World Famous Dive Bars who are running the venue with the support of the Exchange team and in the hope MVP will be able to come on board as benevolent landlords, with the community as co-owners.
The second event of the launch weekend, on September 13, will see a night of “foreboding and unruly noise” in the live room with an eclectic bill of Dis Fig, Regina Collage, David David and Spell Press put together by Enter the Noid.
The clubs slot presents an all night secret B2B featuring a formative name from Bristol’s dubstep heyday, now found holding down a residency on Rinse FM.
Other bands appearing in the Croft’s first season back include iDestroy, Amalfi, Nightbus and Bruise Control.
The team are not letting the uncertain financial situation put them off as they forge ahead with plans.
“We’re confident that we will be able to secure the future of the Croft for the long term,” said Arnold, who will be playing the Croft’s reopening himself under his DJ alter-ego of Belters.
“We can say with certainty that you will be able to walk through those doors come September 12, but would definitely still encourage people to get involved in the fundraiser if they can, as it’s a fantastic opportunity to invest in a Bristol cultural landmark, keeping it in the hands of the people who enjoy it the most.”
Find out more and become a co-owner of the Croft by investing at crowdfunder.co.uk/p/own-our-venues
Main photo: The Croft
Read next:
Our newsletters emailed directly to you
